2014 Program Sponsor
YPA Mentoring Program
- Details of the 2014 program
- Review the 2013 program
- Online gallery of 2013 Escape photo essays
- Read our summary review of the 2013 program
The YPA Mentoring Program picks up where school leaves off by providing the opportunity to work with some of today’s most successful professionals. The program takes place over the course of the summer pairing up college level students with industry professionals. You will meet as a team for a series of 6-8 two hour sessions over the course of 8-12 weeks.
You must have a flexible schedule and be willing to devote necessary time to complete the program and follow instructions provided to you by YPA and your mentors.
How you will benefit:
- Both the program and your work will be prominently displayed to a worldwide audience.
- The results of the program will be featured in an exhibition in NYC.
- You will gain experience and insights from leading industry professionals.
- You will learn business skills necessary for an emerging young professional.
- You will create exciting new work for your portfolio.
- You willl push yourself to expand your boundaries and potential.
You will work together with your team to promote both yourself and the program, all while experiencing the power of photography to build community awareness and support around an important social issue.
“It’s a program that should absolutely exist and can be a vital experience for emerging photographers.”
— Cat Jimenez (2011 LA Mentor)
Background to the program
talented young photographers in collaboration with
professional photographers from
locations around the world explore
one powerful subject to create images that express what binds the world together.
In Spring 2010, YPA was thrilled to announce the launch of an international mentoring initiative, which pairs talented college students and recent graduates with leading photographers from throughout the U.S. and around the world.
Developed with the support of a grant from our Major Founding Sponsor, ASMP Foundation, the YPA mentoring program challenges each student to explore a specific theme over the course of ten weeks, and produce a series of images and an accompanying short essay. The subject can be explored from a variety of vantage points: portraiture, photojournalism, landscape or architectural photography. Each student is encouraged to find his or her own unique perspective and interpretation. Teams are challenged to push the boundaries of how photography can shed light on a subject in new and innovative ways.
The mentoring program gives students the opportunity to work with successful photographers to fine-tune their craft, create images for their portfolios, develop business and marketing skills and explore markets for their work. At the same time, the program will demonstrate the power of photography to build community, national and international awareness and support for an important environmental or social issue. Working within a tight set of guidelines, each mentor offers support and guidance to two to five mentees. The resulting work will be featured online and in one or more public exhibitions. In addition, YPA will promote the project extensively through the press and other publications as it also seeks to expand the program's public presence and geographic reach.
Previous programs
- See the 2013 program on Escape
- See the 2012 program on Hometown
- See the 2011 program on Energy is Everything
- See the 2010 program on Answering Adversity
